Kasich: 'I'm not anti-union'

Sunday

Saying he is at war with joblessness, not unions, Gov. John Kasich denied yesterday that there is any coordinated effort by Republican governors to stifle the power of public-employee unions.

Saying he is at war with joblessness, not unions, Gov. John Kasich denied yesterday that there is any coordinated effort by Republican governors to stifle the power of public-employee unions.

Kasich told The Dispatch the attempt by him and Republicans controlling the Ohio legislature to revamp collective bargaining is necessary to help elected officials get control of spending and to align public-employee compensation with the resources available.

"I'm not anti-union," Kasich said. "I think unions are an important part of the American fabric, but what we're doing here is basically to start sticking up for taxpayers and private-sector workers who have made enormous sacrifices over the last decade."

Kasich said that the collective-bargaining overhaul "is one piece of an overall reform agenda" to be largely revealed in his two-year state budget on March 15. The budget is designed "to stabilize the state so that we can have economic growth, job creation and entrepreneurship," he said.

As the governor worked on his budget yesterday on the 30th floor of the Riffe Center, hundreds of protesters gathered across the street outside the Statehouse to continue the almost-daily rallies against Senate Bill 5, which would significantly curtail collective-bargaining rights for more than 350,000 state and local public workers.

Kasich is among Republican governors in Wisconsin, Indiana, New Jersey, Michigan and other states spearheading efforts to restrict collective bargaining. Labor and Democratic leaders have assailed the moves as part of a national effort by Republicans to weaken unions.

While he occasionally talks with his GOP counterparts, Kasich said "there is no coordinated effort here" to kill public-employee unions, which provide political and financial support overwhelmingly to Democrats.

Kasich said he frequently talks with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and called him last week after Walker was duped by a blogger into believing he was talking by phone with billionaire David H. Koch, who, along with his brother, Charles, are benefactors to GOP campaigns and causes.

"I just called him and said, 'Hey Scott, don't let it get you down, just do what you want to do,'" Kasich said, adding that he has never talked to either of the Koch brothers about collective-bargaining reform.

Decades of continual growth in state spending, services and the bureaucracy is not sustainable in an era of dwindling tax revenue, Kasich said, adding that public-employee compensation has grown more generous than in the private sector.

"It is very reasonable to have the same kind of provisions that private workers get," the governor said. "I said during the campaign that what I was interested in was creating equity between public and private employees and that is exactly what this bill represents."

Kasich called the Senate Bill 5 protesters "very nice people," and said he understands their concerns. By giving elected officials more control over employee contracts and costs, Kasich said, government entities will be financially strengthened, ultimately providing more job and pension security for public employees.

"Some of (the protesters) are very misinformed about what we're doing," Kasich said. "But I'm not angry at the rank-and-file teacher or policeman or fireman or public employee. It's not that at all. I think things will come out fine for them. ... I don't want to hurt people."

"I don't care whether or not he thinks we're nice people," said Yvonne Vadeboncoeur, a biological-science professor at Wright State University in Dayton. "That is not the issue. He is trying to kill collective bargaining, and collective bargaining is democracy in the workplace."

Anita Barton, a high-school guidance counselor from St. Mary's, said Kasich is making public employees scapegoats for the state's financial crisis.

"Why is he so afraid of collective bargaining?" Barton asked. "Why is he so afraid that we have representation? If you don't have representation as a whole, as an individual you don't have a voice."

Dick Gregory, a dentist from Aurora, said he is not a union member but drove to Columbus from northeastern Ohio to show his support for public employees.

"We need a strong middle class," Gregory said. "Workers have to make a decent wage so they can pay their dentist."

Several protests have been staged around the state in recent days, from Cleveland and Lorain to Lancaster. Another round is likely Tuesday when a Senate committee again considers, and possibly votes on, the proposal. Already booked are The Street Dogs, a Boston band that performed for demonstrators in Madison, Wis.

jhallett@dispatch.com

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